Oil-still



(No Model.)

' M. LIVINGSTON.

oil Still. e Ne. 237,560. Patented Feb. 8,1881.

N PElEna. PHQTO-LITHCGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. n.6,

UNITED STATES f PATENT OFFICE.

MAX LIVINGSTON, 0F PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

OIL-STI LL.

SPEIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 237,560, dated February8, 1881.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, MAX LIVINGSTON, ofPittsburg, county ofAllegheny, State of Penn- Sylvania, have'invented'ordiscovered a new and useful Improvement in Oil-Stills; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, concise, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying draw` ings,making a part of `this specification, in which-like letters indicatinglike parts- Figurel illustrates, by a sectional elevation, part of anoil-still with my improvement applid thereto. Fig. 2 shows an endelevation of the saine and Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate, by views inelevation and top plan,respectively, my improvementas applied to avertical still of the class known as the Gracie still. Y

In the distillation of petroleum the vapors driven, off from the oil inthe still have a oonsiderable range of variation in specific gravity,from the lighter benzines to the heavy parafne oils. Several forms ofstills have been employed for effecting such distillation. Those mostcommonly in use are provided withone or more vapor-outlets` orgoose-necks, which lead oif from the still-chamber at a common heightabove the oilto be distilled. As thus arranged the heavy and lightvapors'm ust rise to the same height to lind escape; but in so doing theheavy vapors are Inore or less retarded, owiugkto their greater gravity,and, be'- coming highly heated by their protracted retention in thestill, they are more or less decomposed, or Gr.acked,77 as it istechnically termed, into tarry residuum and light ends,77 which have anoffensive odor and injure the quality of the distillates. Also, stillshave been known and described having a number of vapor-outlets allopening from the side of the still, below the top or dome, at differentpoints in the height of the still. In these, as well as in the stillsfirst mentioned, the vapors of different gravity fill the still-chamber,and paraftine vapors become e intermingled and pass olf through theupper openings along with the vapors of the illuminating-oil. ln orderto separate the paraffineoils so as to render the illuminatingoil t foruse, an eX- pensive process or treatment has-been resorted to, and toobtain the heavier distillates redistillation by steaming and othermethods of re` Application ined July I7, Isso. (No model.)

quality and purity at one"distillatioii in a single still. This I do byproviding a goose-neck or vapor-escape passage, leading upward from thetop of the still-chamber, through which the lightest vapors, includingthat of illuminating-oil, pass from the still, and in addition thereto Iprovide, in the side or sides of the still-chamber, a plurality orsuccession of vapor-outlets, arranged in different horizontal planes orat different points in the height of the still, which side passages arecontrolled by valves, whereby any or all such passages above the levelof oil in the still may be opened, and the vapors of different degreesof gravity will, owing to their natural tendency to separate, find theirappropriate outlets. The lighter vapors, including theilluminating=oils, rise above the still-chamberin the goose-neck andescape through the same, while the parafflne and other heavy vapors, notreadily rising to such height, find more ready escape through the sideopenings, the lighter parafne vaporsv taking the upper side openings andthe heavy vapors taking the' lower side openings, and all escaping fromthe still with equal or nearly equal freedom.

I have represented in the drawings two forms of stills-in Figs. l and 2the ordinary boiler-shaped or cylindrical still, and in Figs. 3 and 4 avertical still made circular and having radially arrangedheating-furnaces, and known as the Gracie still.7 These two forms I haveshown simply for illustration., my invention being equally applicable toboth, as well as to stills of other forms or patterns.

Ashere shown, A represents the still; B, Fig. 1, the oil in the still,and D the furnace for heating the oil. These parts may be of the usualor any desired construction. In the top or dome of such a still Iprovide a goose-neck or vapor-passage, (l, which extends upward abovethe still-chamber and thence leads olf to any suitable condensingapparatus.` lIn operation, this vapor-passage C is, by preference,

sof

kept open from the beginning to the end of the run 7 or distillation,and it is designed to carry off the lightest of the distillates,including theilluminatin g oils. But in order to carry off the heaviervapors I provide a series or succession of vapor-pipes, a ct a2 a3 a4a5, Ste., in any desired number, leading off from the side or end of thestill at different levels, or from different points in the height of thestill, to one, two, or more drums or separators, E E', which latter arearranged in convenient proximity to the still and receive and treat thevapors as presentlydescribed. eral vapor-pipes I arrange cocks or valvesb b b2 b3 b4 b5, Ste., so that any or all the pipes or passagesmay beopened and closed at pleasure.

When charging the still all the side pipes are closed, and then, as thedistillation progresses and the quantity of oil in the still is reduced,one after another of these pipes, as the oil falls below them, isopened, thus providing at all times vapor-escape passages near thesurface of the oil B. By means of such lowpassages the heavy vapors areenabled to pass off readily without being compelled to rise high in thestill, and thereby superheatin g and consequent cracking are avoided.They are, therefore,free from light ends77 and the offensive odor due tothe same. While the vapors -within the still-ch amber do have a tendencyto separate by gravity, as stated, yet it is true that if only sideopenings from such chamber are provided a considerable quantity ofparaffine-vapors will pass off with the illuminatingoils from the upperside openings, owing to the fact that such vapors are carried together,by a common force, toward the top of the still, and such heavy vapors asmay thus be carried upward will pass from a side opening as readily aslight vapors, and in a still having side openings only, the purposes ofmy invention will not be fully secured 5 but by providing the openpassage C, which is much smaller than the still-chamber, and rises aboveits top or dome, l aid the natural tendency to separation by gravity, bythe mechanical structure of the still; or, in other word s, theilluminating-oil and lighter vapors rise in this passage C, tilling thesame, while the heavier or parafne vapors are thereby kept back withinthe larger body of the still-chamber, from which they have more readyescape by means of or through the side passages. By means of thisfreedom from cracking and separation by gravity in the still I not onlyobtain illuminating-oils free from paraffine, but also different gradesof heavier distillates which areV practically pure, of uniformconsistency for each separate grade, free from offensive odors, and ofhigh fire-test, adapted for lubricating and other purposes, anl this isdone at one distillation and in one sti l.

By means of gage-cocksc to e5, Ste., the height of oil in the still canbe determined at any time, and the several vapor-pipes a, a', &c., beopened accordingly. In order to produce In these sevv drainage in thesepipes toward the still so that any free oil or condensed vapors in thepipes may return to the still, I reduce the size of these pipes from thestill toward the valves, thereby giving the bottoms of the pipes adownward slope or inclination into the still, as at t', Fig. l. Thesepipes a a, Ste., may be secured to the still and to their respectivedrums E E in any convenient way. I have shown two of these drums orseparators-one, E,.receiving the pipes a a a2, and the other, E', thepipes a3 a4 a5. Any desired number of these drums may be used, however,the number depending upon the number of different grades of heavydistillates desired, as by using such number the separationlof thevapors by gravity in the still is preserved, while by them a further ormore complete separation is effected or promoted. Occasion is given forthe use of such separators from the fact that a small percentage oflight vapors will likely escape with the heavy vapors through the sideopenings, and also from the practical difficulty of obtaining perfectseparation by gravity through side openings only, as before stated.

The drums are constructed and operated in the usutl way. A steam-coil,e, enters at the top and passes to the bottom of the drum, where thesteam, which becomes highly heated by its passage through the hotvapors, escapes through jet-holes e into the body of the free andcondensed vapors, producing agitation therein, and a separation of anylight vapors that may be present, which latter rise and escape throughpipe e2 at the top of the drum, while the heavy vapors or oil escapethrough pipe e3 at the bottom of the drum. -These pipes e2 and e3 leadto separate eondensers, in which the vapors are treated in the usualway. If preferred, a drum or separator may be used for each of thevapor-pipes of the still; but for ordinary commercial purposes one drumwill suffice for two or three vapor-pipes when arranged as I have shownthem.

In Fig. l I have shown my improvement applied to both ends of the still,and in Figs. 3 and 4 at four different points in the circumference ofthe still there shown. By this means the distance which the vapors inthe still must move to ind escape is reduced. This not only reduces thepressure in the still, but also tends to equalize the existing pressurein all its parts, and to this extent facilitates the vaporization of theoil in the distilling operation.

I claim herein as myinvention 1. An oil-still having a vapor-escapepassage, G, opening into and extending above the top of thestill-chamber, in combination with a succession of valve-governedvapor-escape passages, ci a', Ste., leading off from the side of thestill-chamber at different pointsin its height, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

`2. An oil-still having a vapor-escape passage, G, opening into and'extending above the IOC IIO

still-chamber, with a succession of valve-governed vapor-escapepassages, a a', Snc., leading off from the side of the sti11-chamber at'different points in its height, in combination With two or moreseparators, E E', arranged as described, to receive and separate theVapors escaping through the side passages, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. Y

MAX LIVINGSTON.

Witnesses JAMEs A. MCKEAN, G. L. PARKER.

